New Music Friday: YellowStraps

We're finally back in action with another #NewMusicFriday! This time we had the chance to get to know YellowStraps at his headline London show at Colours Hoxton.

YellowStraps is a Belgium-based artist and multi instrumentalist, producer and artist who has been nurturing a unique neo-soul blend that caresses the senses for nearly 10 years now. We caught up YellowStraps backstage before the show to find out more about his creative process, upcoming album and what he would like his Legacy to be... 👀 

Nadia: Good. So, hi everyone. It's Stooki Jewellery here again and we're here at YellowStraps' show at (Colours Hoxton). We're just gonna throw questions and get to know a little bit about YellowStraps and what he's about and his creative process, so I hope you guys enjoy. So welcome. How are you doing today?

First question, who is YellowStraps?

YellowStraps, actually at the beginning was a band with my brother - a project two years ago now. 

Why did it kind of disband?

I think it's mainly because we started making music as a hobby. It wasn't like the main goal wasn't to live as a musician. And yeah, at some point it came like a little bit more professional in a way, and it started to be a bit more about making music as a job more than as a hobby, you know, it wasn't feeling like the same emotion and the same vibe.

Tell us about your upcoming album?

The name of the album is called Tentacle. And it will be released 27th of January. I've been working on this album for so long. I never worked that hard on something, on anything. And it's been like two years of hard work and I'm really, really excited to drop it.

Check out YellowStraps latest single 'Notice' below

Amazing. And what was your process like creating the album?

When I first started. I think I knew that I wanted to make an album. Cause I did like a few EPs and I felt like it was the right moment to create an album. And in the beginning I remember I did like a lot of different styles and different things. I made like some, tried some afro type of vibes, some trap music, but I was like, ok, this is not it, but I thought that maybe I could like find something interesting and try different stuff. Cause we always like to mix between many styles, you know, like to create like a quite unique one. And so, yeah. I started like searching a lot and a lot, and a lot. In the end I was in the studio, with my manager, we did a track together and we felt like it could be the vibe of the album, of the whole album.

You mentioned a mix of various styles, so where would you say you get your influence from?

I think maybe it's like Soul, Jazz, Hip-Hop as well. Yeah. R&B - actually also Electronic music, Trap music. 

Tell us more about your writing and creative process?

I'm always talking about relationships and love stuff, but like only the struggling parts. 

Mainly the struggling, the struggling part. Cause I feel like it's really, really interesting. And also, I started writing about relationships, the first time I was in a struggle, in a relationship six years ago now and it felt really good just to write about it. 

So it was kind of like therapy?

Yeah, definitely and then I was fine. In my life, I've had a lot of struggles as well. It wasn't just me, there's a lot of people struggling in relationships.

Exactly and that's the real life of relationships as well, isn't it? It's not just roses all the time. Hearing about the struggle makes it more relatable I think.

Yeah, and I wanted to understand why.

What was the inspiration for your single Notice?

Actually we were jamming at home with two friends of mine and we made the first try and was like, damn, yeah, it's cool, that's fine, but let's just try something like different, something special.

So, I had that beat on my computer. I was like, yeah, I like that, maybe we can like try something on it. We tried stuff.  At some point the beat was kinda like a Timberland vibe. I thought we could add a James Blake type of vibe. Actually it worked and I was really inspired instantly. So I wrote the top line of the chorus and everything went so quickly. I think we had the main idea to have the idea after like one hour. I think it was a fast process.

So, how would you describe your fashion style/influences? What's your style?

I think it's mainly simple, but I love to match pieces. I also like vintage stuff.

Do you go thrifting a lot?

Yeah sometimes, I'm more a Vinted type of guy. Sometimes you'll find clothes that you've never seen.

And would you say you're into high fashion designs - like designers and stuff like that. Or are you more independent?

Yeah I’m more independent actually. But it depends if I find something beautiful. It's like love at first sight.

What's your favourite thing about touring?

I think that I would probably say to see music live is something different for me. It's something different for me - like when you're in the studio you cannot really imagine how it would be live. Then when you play it live it takes a different dimension and I really really love that feeling, like to discover the track again. I love meeting people, see and share the love. You know, it's all about the love and it's always good to be all together. I think thanks to music I get to travel.

Would you say that music brings people together? 

Yeah, definitely.

What's your ideal day off? When you're not touring, you have some free time, what do you do?

See friends. I love seeing my friends a lot. 

Do you like being outside?

Yeah, I was more of an inside guy, like I think six/five years ago. Now I really love going outside and I hate being at home.

Is it because of the pandemic or before that?

Maybe? Yeah. It started like at that time? Yeah. I think, yeah, probably.

What are your main sources of inspiration?

Mainly, sounds a bit cheesy, but life and people I meet and talk with. Discovering new music as well. Artists… art, in general. Love. It's sort of like a mix of different things - I try and get it all on paper.

What's next for YellowStraps?

Actually, next, I'm really excited to work on new music. To release the first album and then to start something new and to keep on travelling lots and often. 

What is your ideal destination, to tour and go on holiday?

To tour I would, I would probably say in the US, it's huge and there’s a lot to do.. I don't think I'd go there just for a holiday. It's more business.

Do you feel like you thrive off those kinds of life experiences? So, if you did have a holiday and went to Bali, would you feel like you would need to take something from that to then put into your music?

It depends on what I experienced over there. I could come back and have like no inspiration. But it depends, hard to tell.

What would you like your legacy to be? So, what would you want people to remember you for?

I think to have the ability to give the feelings and to share the love. I'd like people to remember me as a nice person. 

So last question, where can we find more of your work on music?

I'm YellowStraps on all platforms! Instagram / Spotify / Apple Music

Do you sell any physical forms?

Yeah, I sell vinyl.

Nadia: Thank you so much for talking to me today. And all the best for the show tomorrow.

Peace!